Stephen Joseph6th British Association for the Person-Centred Approach (BAPCA) Conference, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester; UK.August 15th 2013

Joseph, S., & Murphy, D. (2013). Person-centered theory encountering mainstream psychology: Building Bridges and looking to the future. In J. H. D. Cornelius-White, R. Motschnig-Pitrik., & M. Lux (Eds.), Interdisciplinary Handbook of the Person-Centered Approach: Research and Theory (pp. 213-226). Springer: New York.

Joseph, S., & Murphy, D. (2013). Person-centered approach, positive psychology and relational helping: Building bridges. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 53. 26 - 51. DOI: 10.1177/0022167812436426.

Joseph, S., Worsley, R. (2007). Person-centred practice and positive psychology: Crossing the bridges between disciplines. In: Worsley, R., Joseph, S., eds. Person-centred practice: Case studies in positive psychology. PCCS Books, pp. 218-223

“The aim of positive

psychology is to begin

to catalyze a change in

the focus of

psychology from

preoccupation only

with repairing the worst

things in life to also

building positive

qualities” (Seligman &

Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5)

“In the past, mental health has been a „residual‟ concept – the absence of disease. We need to do more than describe improvement in terms of say „anxiety reduction‟. We need to say what the person can do as health is achieved. As the emphasis on pathology lessons, there have been a few recent efforts toward positive conceptualizations of mental health. Notable among these are Carl Rogers‟ „fully Functioning Person‟, A. Maslow‟s „Self-Realizing Persons” (Schlien, 2003/1956, p. 17)

Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Positive therapy: a meta-theoretical approach to positive psychological practice. Routledge: London.

Person-Centred Positive Psychology

•Challenges illness ideology

•Understanding the full spectrum of functioning

•Inform positive psychology practice

Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Positive psychology versus the medical model. American Psychologist, 61, 332-333.

Posttraumatic growth

Person-centred approach to psychological trauma

Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Positive adjustment to threatening events: An organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity. Review of General Psychology, 9, 262-280.

Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Growth following adversity: Theoretical perspectives and implications for clinical practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 1041-1053.

Research support for PCA from Self- Determination Theory (SDT)

Develop PCA theory Consistent Measurement

Person-centred coaching

Three philosophical assumptions

1. “The first is that human beings are inherently proactive….

2. Second, human beings, as self-organizing systems, have an inherent tendency toward growth, development, and integrated functioning….

3. The third important philosophical assumption is that, although activity and optimal development are inherent to the human organism, these do not happen automatically. For people to actualize their inherent nature and potentials – that is, to be optimally active and to develop effectively – they require nutrients from the social environment. To the extent that they are denied the necessary support and nourishment by chaotic, controlling, or rejecting environments, there will be negative consequences for their activity and development”. (Deci & Vansteenkiste, 2004, p. 23-24)

Three Basic Psychological Needs:

Autonomy(e.g., my mother allows me to decide things for myself)

Competence(e.g., my mother puts time and energy into helping me)

Relatedness(e.g., my mother accepts me and likes me as I am)

http://www.selfdeterminationtheory.org/

Convergence of philosophical assumptions of SDT and PCA

Similarity between basic psychological needs of SDT and the core conditions of PCA

SDT research supportive of PCA

Patterson, T., & Joseph, S. (2007). Person-centered personality theory: Support from self-determmination theory and positive psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 47, 117-139.

Patterson, T., Joseph, S. (2007). Outcome measurement in person-centred practice. In: Worsley, R., Joseph, S., eds. Person-centred practice: Case studies in positive psychology. PCCS Books, pp. 200-215.

Joseph, S & Wood, A. (2010). Assessment of positive functioning in clinical psychology: Theoretical and practical issues. Clinical Psychology Review. 30, 830-838.

Authenticity ScalePlease read of the following statements and rate how well each describes you, where 1 = “Does not Describe me at all” and 7 = “Describes me very well”.

1 I think it is better to be yourself, than to be popular2 I don’t know how I really feel inside3 I am strongly influenced by the opinions of others4 I usually do what other people tell me to do5 I always feel I need to do what others expect me to do6 Other people influence me greatly7 I feel as if I don’t know myself very well8 I always stand by what I believe in9 I am true to myself in most situations10 I feel out of touch with the ‘real me’11 I live according to my values and beliefs12I feel alienated from myself

Scoring: total items 3, 4, 5, 6 for resistance toexternal influences; 2, 7, 10 and 12 for self-alienation;and items 1, 8, 9 and 11 for authentic behavior.

Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M.., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the authenticity scale. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 55, 385-399.

Joseph, S. (2006). Person-centred coaching psychology: a meta-theoretical perspective. International Coaching Psychology Review, 1, 47-54.

Joseph, S. (2009). The person-centred approach to coaching. Chapter in, The Complete Handbook of Coaching By Elaine Cox, Tatiana Bachkirova, David A. Clutterbuck (Eds). Sage.

Email:Stephen.Joseph@nottingham.ac.uk

Twitter:ProfSJoseph

Blogs:http://www.psychologytoday.com/bl

og/what-doesnt-kill-us

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-joseph/what-doesnt-kill-us-post_b_2862726.html